furphy

furphy /FəR-fee/. noun. A false report; a rumor. From Furphy water carts (and latrine buckets) employed during World War I in Australia by the Furphy manufacturing company. The slang use of the word derives from the fact that soldiers would stand around the carts—which were boldly emblazoned with the company name—exchanging gossip. See also: scuttlebutt.

“The furphy round the House is that they believe in the thing so solidly that they’ve convinced their husbands.” (John Wyndham)

“Some members described climate change as a ‘furphy’.” (Rosemary Bulger)